The OECD report has ranked the UK 23rd out of 65 in reading, perhaps it is
time to rethink our attitudes towards education and start teaching Latin,
says Rozina Sabur

At a time when the OECD report has ranked the UK as 23rd out of 65 countries for reading, perhaps it is time to rethink our attitudes towards education. If the classicists are to be believed, learning Latin can improve literacy levels.

Classicists are often called upon to defend their subject, but it has been proved that the benefits extend to other subjects as well. However, despite this, Latin is only taught in 13 per cent of state schools and just 12,000 take Latin GCSE each year. But should Classics be the preserve of the elite?

Having studied both Latin and English literature for my degree, I can attest to the benefits of a Classical background in understanding English literature.

I was able to study Latin at university, as I had previously enrolled on a gifted and talented evening scheme – my state school didn't, at that stage, offer it.

Jones stressed the employability factor, quoting a YouGov survey in which 83 per cent of those asked supported the classical languages being taught in secondary schools, while 28 per cent said that Classics should be included on the curriculum. Furthermore, 51 per cent of those responsible for staff, said the study of Classics was either useful or very useful.

Classics for All, a charitable scheme into its third year, funds teaching and resources in state schools.

At a funding event, 'Classics in the City', I spoke to David Hogg, from Kelmscott School in Walthamstow, who completed his GCSE in Latin and taught it through the scheme; he intends to stay ahead of his pupils, who are currently a few steps behind.

He suggested the literature added a whole new layer of teaching to English Literature: “It’s a revelation,” he says. “Atticus suddenly became a shining light projecting his philosophy onto Maycomb.”

“I’ve been teaching these books for years; suddenly I’m seeing them in a whole new light. It’s made me a better teacher of my own subject.”

“I’m very annoyed it isn’t taught to all children – even though I’m an English teacher, those with Classics can reference Byron and Keats better.”

Reading these texts in translation, simply doesn’t have the same potency. The nuances of the language, the word play and the effect of metre cannot be translated. It's a shame most students should be deprived of this.

Historian, Bettany Hughes, says she studied Latin and Greek “not because I went to a posh school but because I had a wonderful teacher.” She is currently a patron of Classics For All, along with Boris Johnson and Mary Beard.

Bettany said the benefits of studying these languages are manifold, not least because, as a historian looking at Syria and similar situations, this learning “gives us a much firmer understanding of contemporary politics”.

“What we’re speaking now is Greco-Roman," she says. "It comes from the greatest literature ever written. When you read it, you feel humility looking at things over time and space”

Jules Mann, Executive Director of the charity highlighted the inclusivity of the scheme, not aimed solely at students who wanted to study Classics further. She stressed that one of the organisation's most important messages was that the scheme could have a huge impact in schools with "so little" funding.

She highlighted Kelmscott School in Walthamstow as a case in point: "Kelmscott received £5,000 in funded tutoring. They are now teaching Latin in school and other teachers are coming forward wanting to be involved." She added: "We need to raise well over £100,000 p.a. to provide classes in 100 schools a year".